Monday, November 19, 2007
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LSU and Kansas in Control of BCS Destiny

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[November 19, 2007]  NEW YORK (AP) -- All that stands between a Kansas-LSU matchup in the BCS national championship game are some tough opponents.

LSU was first and unbeaten Kansas was second in the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday, and the chances of another team catching either without the Tigers and Jayhawks losing seem remote.

The Tigers are No. 1 in the polls and the computers ratings and have BCS average of .990. The Jayhawks are No. 2 across the board with a BCS average of .949.

Kansas moved up two spots this week, taking advantage of losses by Oregon and Oklahoma.

Hoping for Kansas or LSU to slip up are third-place West Virginia (.888), Missouri (.871), Ohio State (.860) and Arizona State (.802).

LSU faces Arkansas at home on Friday before playing in the Southeastern Conference championship game against either Georgia or Tennessee on Dec. 1 in Atlanta.

Kansas and Missouri meet Saturday in Kansas City for the 116th time, and never has it been more important. The winner goes to the Big 12 title game with national championship hopes in tact. If Kansas gets by Missouri, either Oklahoma or Texas awaits in the Big 12 title game.

Ohio State (11-1) finished its regular season with a 14-3 victory over Michigan and is locked into at least a Rose Bowl bid as the Big Ten champion.

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If the Buckeyes catch a few breaks and find themselves in the BCS title game, the Rose Bowl will be without a Big Ten team. To qualify for an at-large bid, teams must finish in the top 14 of the final BCS standings. After Ohio State, the next best Big Ten team is Illinois in 18th place.

The Rose Bowl is in good shape to have a Pac-10 team with Arizona State leading the league and Southern California and Oregon still in the mix for at-large bids.

Hawaii was in 15th place in the standings, one spot better than last week and three spots behind where the unbeaten Warriors need to finish to earn an automatic BCS bid.

Hawaii plays Boise State, 19th in the standings, Friday night. The winner should get a good boost, but time is running out.

[Associated Press; By RALPH D. RUSSO]

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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